Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1996, published 85th ILC session (1997)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Republic of Korea (Ratification: 1992)

The Committee notes with interest the Government's first two reports for the periods ending June 1994 and December 1995. It appreciates the quality of the information provided and also notes with interest that the unemployment rate remained very low during the periods under consideration and was around 2 per cent at the end of 1995. It would be grateful if the Government would include information in its next report on the following points.

1. The Committee notes with interest the employment policy principles established by the Basic Employment Policy Act of 1993. It also notes the provisions of the Employment Security Act of 1994, which prohibits discrimination on grounds of sex, religion, social status or marital status. Please also indicate the provisions which guarantee the free choice of employment without distinction on the other grounds set out in Article 1, paragraph 2(c), of the Convention. Please also supply the texts referred to in the second report and, in particular, the decrees issued under the above Acts.

2. The Committee notes that the principal labour market policy measures are intended to promote the employment of specific groups of the population, such as women, young persons, older workers and workers with disabilities. Please continue to supply as detailed information as possible on the results achieved by these various measures, both as regards the groups concerned and the employment situation in general.

3. The Committee notes the emphasis placed on training for employment. It notes that in November 1996 the Government provided its first report on the application of Convention No. 142, which it proposes to examine at its next session.

4. Please provide more detailed information on the nature and volume of the activities of the employment services, together with relevant available statistics. Please indicate the measures taken to coordinate the activities of public employment services with those of private employment agencies.

5. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supplement the information provided on labour market policies by information (as requested in the report form adopted by the Governing Body - see under Article 1) on how the measures taken in other fields of government action contribute to the promotion of employment within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy (Article 2). Please in particular describe how the principal measures in such fields as investment policy, fiscal and monetary policies, trade policy and prices, incomes and wages policies promote the achievement of employment objectives.

6. Article 3. The Committee notes with interest the information on the consultation of organizations of employers and workers during the formulation of the Basic Employment Policy Act, the opinions that were expressed and the manner in which they were taken into account. It notes that the Policy Council established by the Act includes representatives of employers and workers. The Committee recalls in this respect that the Convention not only provides for the consultation of representatives of persons affected during the formulation of employment policies but also their cooperation in the implementation of these policies. Please provide information on the consultations held in the Policy Council, and on any other consultation arrangements relating to employment policy within the meaning of the Convention.